Topic: Nintendo really needs more studios like Retro.

They've even said so themselves.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/04/nintendo_wants_more_...

But I can't really think of any good small developers besides platinum games and wayforward. The rest have already been purchased by larger companies.

they should partner with inde devs. thats the future anyway.

I think its clear Platinum likes where they're sitting. Seriously, other people pay to fund their games, meaning under performance is not an issue. Doubt they'd let Nintendo lock them down completely. Wayforward may be more open to it, but I have trouble seeing them give up their 3rd party status. Anyone else seems to be in a similar situation. I'm sure Nintendo and Behemoth would get along well, but I again just can't imagine Behemoth going exclusive. And buying anything smaller is super risky. Nintendo would have to approach them with a specific idea and pray they can handle it.

Most Indie devs work with h low budget, so they do what they can with said budget. While this may make them more resourceful, it may also limit what they know how to do. Only time will tell, I suppose.

they sure do

They had them in the pre-Iwata era. Nintendo just decided that America wasn't important anymore and closed down or sold off every studio in the continent except Retro.

I'm not sure what your obsession with Nintendo buying studios is though. There's not much they gain by it. Exclusive publishing deals is where it's at.

If they had another retro, they'd only make two more series of games. I like their games but I would rather Nintendo stuck to deals like the ones they have with Platinum and the ones from the Gamecube era that made Eternal Darkness

Insomniac
Level 5

Lost causes:
Black Box software
Pop Cap

Wayforward is one of the last companies I'd want to see Nintendo buy. Nintendo already overproduced 2D platformers, wasting valuable development time on games that take zero advantage of more powerful hardware. Wayforward would only exacerbate the problem.

It's a shame Rare and Silicon Knights left. If they had kept that stable of developers, along with Retro, I feel like their software lineup today would be a lot better, and certainly more diverse (which is what they need the most.) They provided a lot of content that Nintendo doesn't usually deliver. Exclusive collaborations like B2 are great, but they need to secure these studios and IPs permanently, or else B3 will be on PS4 and One, and they'll have to start from scratch nextgen

Not exactly. American companies weren't meeting standards. Left Field's games were selling like crap, and Rare completely dropped the ball on having anything ready for the GC's first year.

@Bryon15 Factor5 and Silicon Knights were temporary arrangements. Also, most developers don't own IPs. The point of buying them is for the talent.

If Retro is only going to produce 1-2 games per console generation, I'd say Nintendo needs ten more companies like them

Except the quote doesn't say jack about purchasing or creating more studios, especially since the examples given (Monster and Next Level) are independent developers working with Nintendo through partnerships. That's where they should really be expanding.

Second party indies would be a good idea, although they'd need a lot of them and I doubt they'll find enough.

I've said this repeatedly. And I'm gonna keep on saying it until someone from Nintendo sees it and responds. Nintendo missed out on very opportune partnerships by not signing exclusivity deals with Shovel Knight and Steamworld Dig devs.
Both games were huge hits and both were clearly developed with a huge pro-Nintendo bias. The amount they would've had to pay these guys to remain exclusive would've probably been quite small.

Your avatar just reminds me of how Nintendo needs to friggin' butter up Ganbarion (and Mistwalker). They don't need to buy them, but at least fund more awesome games.

A smart move from this side of the pond would be to build studios from the ground up. I bet there'd be a ton of devs (even ex Rare devs) who'd love to work under Nintendo's banner as long as their creativity wasn't stifled too much. Just imagine a Western dev team making amazing RTS or CRPG games with the Wii U gamepad...

To be fair, I felt like donkey Kong, and the upcoming yoshi game both take advantage of the Wii U's graphical capabilities. Now nsmbu? Nope, not at all.

The funny thing is which the OP hadn't realised is Ninty didn't actually buy Retro, they created them.

They downsized Retro by 75% after Lincoln left. (Who presumably created it at that size to guard against the current situation).

The part making sports games have been especially useful now.

I would like to see them team with Insomniac. Nintendo is the only one of the Big 3 Insomniac haven't partnered with yet and Nintendo could really use the breath of fresh air Insomniac would offer.

God, then I could die happy.

Wait, no, Giant robots haven't been invented yet. But it'd definitely knock a high number off my bucket list.

It really would be perfect. Insomniac has experience creating the colorful, child-friendly platform/adventure games that Nintendo strives on, but they do it with a distinctly western development style. If Nintendo is open minded, both parties could learn a lot from a partnership.